Thomas & Friends series 12
Thomas & Friends | |
---|---|
Season 12 | |
No. of episodes | 20 |
Release | |
Original network | Five |
Original release | 1 September 26 September 2008 | –
Series chronology | |
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
This article lists and details episodes from the twelfth series of the show, which was first broadcast in 2008.[1] This series was originally planned to be narrated by Pierce Brosnan, replacing Michael Angelis and Michael Brandon for the UK and US narrations starting with The Great Discovery, respectively. However, Brosnan withdrew from the series for unknown reasons, and the series was released with Angelis narrating the UK releases and Brandon narrating the US releases.
Most episodes in this series have two titles: the titles from the UK broadcasts are shown on top, while the American-adapted titles are shown underneath.
This was also the last season of the use of the live-action model animation to the show before switching over to full CGI in 2009, starting with Hero of the Rails.
This series managed to spawn a cult internet following early 2019 thanks to the sheer incompentence of Twitter.com user @TheSodorWander.
Production
Filming and animation
Series 12 marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI (computer-generated imagery).[2][3] Characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion capture animation. The physical models' molded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. Static models of people and animals were replaced with 3D animations by using small, metal sticks with coloured points on each end. The animation was provided by Nitrogen Studios, the studio contracted for future full-CGI episodes. This change marked the movement of production of the show from the United Kingdom to Canada,[2][3][4] although the model scenes were still filmed at Shepperton Studios. This was the last series where Ed Welch provided the music, while Robert Hartshorne continues to compose the music afterwards until he was took over by Chris Renshaw in Thomas & Friends in 4-D: Bubbling Boilers.
HiT Entertainment's Senior Vice-President of Production and Programming, Christopher Skala, stated that the change, aside from budgetary reasons, was intended to convey more emotion and flexibility through the stories. Skala claimed that, of his focus group, even those who felt that Thomas, as an institution, should not be changed in this way ultimately responded positively to the demonstration of the new animation techniques.
Closed captioning for the 30-minute version of the show was produced by CaptionMax.
Episodes
No. overall | No. in season | UK title (top) Main title (middle) US title (bottom) | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | TV Order |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
289 | 1 | "Thomas and the Billboard" | Steve Asquith | Mark Robertson | 1 September 2008 | 501a |
290 | 2 | "Steady Eddie" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 2 September 2008 | 501b |
291 | 3 | "Rosie's Funfair Special" "Rosie's Carnival Special" | Steve Asquith | Andrew Viner | 3 September 2008 | 502a |
292 | 4 | "Mountain Marvel" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 4 September 2008 | 502b |
293 | 5 | "Henry Gets It Wrong" | Steve Asquith | Abi Grant | 5 September 2008 | 503a |
294 | 6 | "Heave Ho Thomas!" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 8 September 2008 | 503b |
295 | 7 | "Toby's Special Surprise" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 9 September 2008 | 504a |
296 | 8 | "Excellent Emily" | Steve Asquith | Paul Larson | 10 September 2008 | 504b |
297 | 9 | "The Party Surprise" | Steve Asquith | Simon Spencer | 11 September 2008 | 505a |
298 | 10 | "Saved You!" | Steve Asquith | Paul Larson | 12 September 2008 | 505b |
299 | 11 | "Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon" | Steve Asquith | Mark Robertson | 15 September 2008 | 506a |
300 | 12 | "James Works It Out" | Steve Asquith | Simon Spencer | 16 September 2008 | 506b |
301 | 13 | "Tram Trouble" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 17 September 2008 | 507a |
302 | 14 | "Don't Go Back" | Steve Asquith | Simon Spencer | 18 September 2008 | 507b |
303 | 15 | "Gordon Takes a Shortcut" | Steve Asquith | Wayne Jackman | 19 September 2008 | 508a |
304 | 16 | "The Man in the Hills" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 22 September 2008 | 508b |
305 | 17 | "Thomas Puts the Brakes On" | Steve Asquith | Mark Robertson | 23 September 2008 | 509a |
306 | 18 | "Percy and the Bandstand" | Steve Asquith | Paul Larson | 24 September 2008 | 509b |
307 | 19 | "Push Me, Pull You" | Steve Asquith | Sharon Miller | 25 September 2008 | 510a |
308 | 20 | "Best Friends" | Steve Asquith | Anna Starkey | 26 September 2008 | 510b |
Characters
- Hank the American Engine ("Heave Ho Thomas!")
- Flora ("Tram Trouble")
- Colin the Green Crane ("The Party Surprise")
- The Balloon Repairman ("Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon")
- The Bargeman ("The Party Surprise")
- Ms. Marvel ("Mountain Marvel" (does not speak))
- Mr. Giggles ("Thomas and the Billboard" (does not speak))
- The Percival Children ("The Party Surprise" (cameo))
Recurring character cast
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Duck
- Donald and Douglas
- Oliver
- Emily
- Murdoch
- Neville
- Ben
- Rosie
- Whiff
- Stanley
- Diesel
- Mavis
- Salty
- Skarloey
- Rheneas
- Sir Handel
- Peter Sam
- Rusty
- Duncan
- Fearless Freddie
- Mighty Mac (Mac; does not speak)
- Toad
- Hector
- Troublesome Trucks
- Bertie
- Jack
- Harold
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Lady Hatt
- Dowager Hatt
- Stepney (does not speak in the UK)
- Harvey
- Arthur
- 'Arry and Bert
- Annie and Clarabel
- Henrietta
- Rocky
- Trevor
- Alfie
- Farmer McColl
- Bulgy (cameo)
- Jeremy
- Cranky